Tension device



Feb. 18, 1958 H. c. NOE 2,823,874

TENSION DEVICE Filed Aug. 20, 1956 INVENTOR Hw'wld-C, ILoe ATTORNEY United States Patent TENSION DEVICE Harold C. Noe, Upper Montclair, N. J., assignor to Kidde Manufacturing Co., Inc., Bloomfield, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application August 20, 1956, Serial No. 604,953 Claims. (Cl. 242-154) The present invention relates to tensioning devices, and more particularly, to yarn tensioning devices of the tortuous path type.

In certain yarn winding or rewinding operations, it is extremely important to maintain a somewhat uniform tension in the yarn throughout the entire operation. Surges of increased tension are undesirable because of the tendency for overlying yarn to dig into lower layers which later unwind with binding and cause diificulties in knitting 0r weaving operations. Sudden slackening, on the other hand, may result in a loose winding tending to unravel and snarl upon unwinding.

Tensioning devices commonly used in yarn winding to overcome the foregoing difficulties are either of the pinching type or of the comb type. Each has its advantages and its disadvantages for various applications. By reason of its relatively small contact area, the pinching type of tensioning device tends to distort the cross sectional shape of the yarn by flattening the same. However, this type of device does provide nominal compensation for instantaneous tension variations encountered ahead of the device. The comb type tensioning device has two rows of intermeshing fingers about which the yarn is partially wrapped to apply tension gradually. While this type of device delivers substantially undamaged yarn, the constant rubbing of the yarn over the same exposed areas of the fingers cuts recesses therein.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a yarn tensioning device which overcomes the foregoing difliculties and disadvantages.

Another object is to provide a tensioning device which will tension yarn without cross sectional distortion thereof.

Another object is to provide such a tensioning device which handles the yarn in a manner to prevent localized wear of the tension applying means.

Another object is to provide such a tensioning device which is adapted to damp out instantaneous tension surges in the yarn supply package.

Another object is to provide a tensioning device which is readily threaded.

A further object is to provide such a yarn tensioning device which is simple and economical to manufacture and assemble.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are generally accomplished by providing a tension device which comprises first and second rows of guide means arranged alternately in side-by-side spaced apart relation, with the guide means of one row extending cross-wise with respect to the guide means of the other row, a third row of spaced guide means arranged to pass between adjacent guide means of the first and second 2,823,874 Patented Feb. 18, 1958 2 rows, means for movably mounting one of the rows, and means for urging the guide means of the movable row toward and beyond the crossing line of the guide means of the other rows.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and is shown in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a tension device in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the device taken substantially along the line 22 on Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing in detail, a tensioning device is shown which generally comprises a base plate 10, two stationary rows of fingers 11 and 12 and a rotatable row of fingers 14 for tensioning the yarn.

The base plate 10 is a generally flat, elongated rectangular casting which has thereon a clamp 15 on its rear face for attaching the same to a support, a selfthreading ring 16 at the lower end, a yarn guide 17 within the ring 16 formed with a spiral opening 18 for cooperating with the ring to thread the same, a. slub catcher 19 in line with and just above the guide 17 and removably inserted within a pair of raised bosses 20, and a yarn guide 21 at the upper end in alignment with the yarn guide 17. A clip 22 serves to mount the guide 21 on the base.

The stationary rows 11 and 12 are located intermediate the slub catcher 19 and the guide 21, and are each provided by an aligned set of rod-like guide fingers 24a and 24b securely fitted into apertures formed in channel members 25a and 25b, respectively. The channel members are fastened to inwardly converging mounting bosses 26 cast on the front face of the base plate to position the fingers of the respective rows in alternately intermeshing and intersecting relationship and diagonally with respect to the base plate. The intersection of the longitudinal axes of the fingers 24a and 24b is along a line extending through the guide members 17 and 21.

The rotatable row 14 similarly comprises aligned rodlike fingers 24c securely pressed into apertures in a channel member 25c'which is attached to upper and lower pivots 27 and 29, respectively. The pivots 27 and 29 are journalled into bearings 30 and 31, respectively, which, in turn, are adjustably attached to mounting bosses 32 and 34, respectively, on the base plate 10. The upper pivot 27 is provided with a manual control arm 35 and a torque-applying arm 36, and a boss 37 supports an eyelet 39 laterally adjacent the arm 36. A flexible strand 40 has one end attached to the free end of the torque arm 36, passes through the eyelet 39, and has its other end attached to a hook 41 which is adapted for attachment to suitable means for applying a force to pivot the fingers 24c towards the line of intersection of the fingers 24a and 2412. For example, the hook may have a carrier 42 suspended therefrom for supporting weights 43 of a desired value to apply a predetermined tensioning force.

The device is set up by manually rotating the arm 35 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 to move the fingers 240 out of meshing relation with the fingers 24a and 24b. A strand of yarn Y is threaded through the guides 17 and 21 and the slub catcher 19 and is laid over the fingers 24a and 24b at their line of intersection. The arm 35 is then released to permit the weights 43 to exert a force on the arm 36 in a counterclockwise direction to return the fingers 240 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In operation, the yarn passes upwardly between the three rows of fingers and the force applied to the row 14 positions the fingers 24c slightly inwardly of the line of intersection of the fingers 24a and 24b, whereby the yarn is partially wrapped about the fingers and follows a mul'ti-directional tortuous path to cause the friction between the yarn and the fingers to establish the desired tensioning of the yarn. By reason of the arrangement of the three rows of fingers, the yarn is contacted on its periphery at three points about 120 apart, so that the forces applied to the yarn are distributed evenly thereabout and appreciable cross-sectional distortion thereof cannot take place.

As tension surges ahead of the device are experienced, the fingers 24c move outwardly to reduce the amount of tension added by the device to the yarn at the delivery end. This partial compensation damps out undesirable irregularities in winding. Also, as changes in the position of the movable fingers occur, not only is the amount of wraparound about the fingers reduced, but also the exact position of the yarn on each of these rods will be materially shifted lengthwise. Thus, as winding progresses, the yarn continually wanders over a length-of the fingers to effectively distribute the wear. Such wear distribution is also experienced when different static loadings are applied or when different sizes of yarn are handled by the device.

While the yarn guide or engaging means 24a, 24b and 240 have been shown and described as rod-like fingers, it will be appreciated that these elements could be of other shapes as long as they have a smooth surface and are arranged at three points about the yarn for contacting the same.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides a yarn tensioning device which is simple to manufacture and is easily set up to operate. The device maintains yarn distortion to an absolute minimum and has a greatly increased useful life by distribution of wear.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

Iclaim:

1. A tension device comprising a first row of spaced guide fingers and a second row of spaced guide fingers, the fingers of said rows being arranged alternately in side by side spaced apart relation and the fingers of one row extending cross-wise with respect to the fingers of the other row, a third row of spaced guide fingers mounted for pivotal movement with the fingers thereof arranged to pass between adjacent fingers of said first and second rows, and means for urging the fingers of said third row towards the crossing line of the fingers of said first and second rows.

2. A tension device comprising a base plate, first and of said first and second rows, and means for urging the fingers of said third row toward the crossing line of the fingers of said first and second rows.

3. A tension device comprising a first row of spaced guide fingers and a second row of spaced guide fingers, the fingers of said rows being arranged alternately in side by side spaced apart relation and the fingers of one row extending cross-Wise with respect to the fingers of the other row, a third row of spaced guide fingers mounted for pivotal movement with the fingers thereof secured to a pivot bar and arranged to pass between adjacent fingers of said first and second rows, a torque applying arm protruding from said pivot bar, and gravity means connected by a flexible cable to said torque applying arm for urging the fingers of said third row toward the crossing line of the fingers of said first and second rows.

4. A tension device comprising a first row of spaced guide means and a second row of spaced guide means, the guide means of said rows being arranged alternately in side-by-side spaced apart relation and the guide means of onerow extending cross-wise with respect to the guide means of the other row, a third row ofspaced guide means arranged to pass between adjacent guide means of said first and second rows, means for movably mounting one of said rows, and means for urging the guide means of said movable row towards the crossing line of the guide means of said other rows.

' 5. A tension device comprising afirst row of spaced guide means and a second row of spaced guide means, the guide means of said rows being arranged alternately in side by side spaced apart relation and the guide means of one row extending cross-wise. with respect to the guide means of the other row, a third row of spaced guide means arranged to pass between adjacent guide means of said first and second rows, means'for mounting one of said rows for pivotal movement including a pivot bar,,a torque applying arm protruding from said pivot bar, and gravity means connected by a'fiexible cable to said torque applying arm for urging the guide means of said pivotally mounted row toward the crossing line of the guide means of said other rows.

No references'cited. 

